One-Grip Table Tennis Paddle

ABSTRACT

A table tennis paddle or like table tennis racket designed so the player can us the expert shake hands serve grip for the entire game. The present invention features a handle that comfortably fits into the cavity formed by the three fingers behind the handle of the conventional paddle when the expert player serves. This serve grip allows the player to rotate his wrist during the forehand stroke imparting more spin to the ball, more easily use the wrist rotation in the backhand stroke, and to play the entire game with the serve grip, thus not changing his grip during the entire game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention

The current invention pertains to a table tennis paddle or like paddle played by hand, and specifically, table tennis paddle played by hand and controlled by the palm and fingers.

2. Background

The current invention allows the table tennis player to play the entire game with the serve grip of the expert shake hands player. Henceforth, the invention will be called the one-grip paddle as opposed to the conventional paddle in which the handle is planar to the striking surface. To serve in table tennis, the expert shake hands player grasps the paddle with the thumb on the striking surface and the index finger on the opposite striking surface. The three remaining fingers are curled behind the handle. (See FIG. 1) This grip orients the blade vertically so the player can use his wrist extensively in order to impart much spin on the ball. However, this grip does not securely hold the paddle since only the index finger and thumb grasp the paddle. Therefore, after serving, the player grasps the paddle handle with the three fingers which were curled behind the handle to play the rest of the point. Playing the entire point with the serve grip of the expert player allows the player to impart more spin on the ball in both forehand and backhand strokes. More spin is achieved because the player can use his wrist more easily with the backhand stroke and use his wrist in the forehand stroke where he could not use his wrist with the conventional paddle. Another advantage is that the player does not need to switch grips after serving.

Several inventions incorporate protruding the handle obliquely in two directions from the striking surface but none are specifically designed to secure the paddle firmly so the player can continue to play the entire point with the serve grip of the expert shake hands player.

The paddle of US 20100317468 A1 does orient the handle obliquely in two directions to the blade but has seven deficiencies. 1) The rapid switching unit is flat on the top and not contoured to accept the form of the middle finger thus not securing the paddle to the hand as well as a contoured handle. 2) The palm curved set is not linear in that it is perpendicular to the blade for some distance and then is oblique to the blade. This complexity prohibits the layered veneer of the blade from being bent into the center of the hand for easier manufacture of the paddle. 3) The multifunction unit is not necessary for the serve grip and eliminates the possibility of making the handle integral to the blade by bending the wood of the blade. 4) The paddle has no contoured thumb support which would more securely affix the paddle to the player's hand. 5) The paddle has no contoured index finger support which would more securely affix the paddle to the player's hand. 6) The paddle has no striking surface notch which would more securely affix the paddle to the player's hand. 7) The handle of the paddle is not grooved to accept one or more of the three fingers gripping the handle which would more securely affix the paddle to the player's hand.

The paddle of U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,101 incorporates a handle oblique to the blade in two directions. The handle has two attachments, but a claim is made for a single attachment. However, the following statement is made “The closed handle provides the most secure attachment of the handle and the blade to prevent any undesired movement between the two parts.” This statement implies that the inventor did not consider a tapered handle which would have lengthened the attachment surface for sufficient strength. The tapered handle of the one-grip paddle would also fit the cavity formed by the three fingers curled behind the handle of the service grip of the expert player. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,101 paddle has no contoured thumb support, contoured index finger support, contoured middle finger groove, grooved handle to conform to finger profile, or striking surface notch of which one or more are required to securely affix the paddle the player's hand so that he can comfortably play the entire point with the expert serve grip. This paddle was not designed for the player to play the entire point with the expert serve grip and cannot be used as such.

The handle of the paddle of 20150224377 coplanar to the striking surface, therefore, this design does not allow the player to play the entire game with the expert shake hands serve grip.

The novel paddle of 20030013564 has a handle oblique to the striking surface but in only one direction. The cavity formed by the three fingers behind the paddle when serving is oblique to the striking surface in two directions. Therefore, the player cannot use the serve grip for the entire game. In addition, the index finger is spaced away from the blade surface. The player needs the index finger on the striking surface in order to accurately know the orientation of the blade to impart the correct spin and trajectory of the ball.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The one-grip paddle is designed so the table tennis player can play the entire game with the serve grip of the expert shake hands player. The expert serve grip grasps the blade with the thumb on the striking surface and the index finger on the opposite striking surface. The three remaining fingers are curled behind the handle. This grip orients the blade so that the wrist can be used to impart much spin on the ball. The paddle of this invention directs the handle into the cavity formed by the three remaining fingers curled behind the handle of the conventional paddle so the player can play the entire point with the serve grip. This invention allows the player to impart more spin to be imparted to the ball in both forehand and backhand strokes and eliminates the need to switch grips after serving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the serve grip of expert table tennis player.

FIG. 2 shows the one-grip table tennis paddle made by bonding tapered handle 6 to striking surface 1. The figure shows the centerline of the forehand striking surface 3, the bisecting plane through the forehand striking surface centerline 2, the contoured groove for the middle finger 5, and the contoured support for the index finger 4.

FIG. 3 shows the oblique angle of the bisecting plane 7 of the tapered handle 6 to the backhand striking surface 1, and the contoured thumb support 8.

FIG. 4 shows the oblique angle of the bisecting plane 9 to the backhand striking surface 1.

FIG. 5 Shows the offset of the handle 6 is measured at the intersection of the centerline of the tapered handle 6 and the backhand striking surface 1 and the centerline 3 of the striking surface 1. FIG. 5 also shows the angle of the handle attachment to the centerline of the striking surface.

FIG. 6 shows the contoured thumb support 11 and the backhand striking surface 12.

FIG. 7 shows the embodiment made by bending the blade wood to form the base for the handle 6, index support 4, and contoured groove 5 for the middle finger. In this embodiment the rubber is glued to the index finger support to provide more friction between the finger and the blade.

FIG. 8 shows the embodiment made by bending the blade wood to form the base for the handle 6 and the contoured thumb support 11. In this embodiment the rubber is glued to the contoured thumb support.

FIG. 9 shows the embodiment with the three grooved notches, a notch for the middle finger 13, and notch for the fourth finger 14, and a notch for the little finger 15, to more securely affix the hand to the tapered handle 6.

FIG. 10 shows the embodiment with two grooved notches, a notch for the middle finger 13 and fourth finger 14, to more securely affix the hand to the tapered handle 6.

FIG. 11 shows the embodiment with one groove 16 for all three fingers which grasp the tapered handle 6 to more securely affix the hand to the tapered handle 6.

FIG. 12 shows the embodiment in which extra support is given to the grip by providing a notch to which the last digit of the index finger can grab.

FIG. 13 shows the handle 6 contoured to match the meat of the thumb and the lower hand 18.

FIG. 14 shows the embodiment for the left handed player showing the centerline of the forehand striking surface 3, the bisecting plane through the forehand striking surface centerline 2, the contoured groove for the middle finger 5,and the contoured support for the index finger 4. The embodiment is a mirror of the paddle for the right handed player.

FIG. 15 shows the forehand stroke using the conventional paddle. When the wrist is cocked, the forehand striking surface is at an acute angle to the trajectory of the ball and disallows the player to use his wrist in the forehand stroke.

FIG. 16 shows the forehand stroke using the one-grip paddle. When the wrist is cocked, the forehand striking surface is at an obtuse angle to the trajectory of the ball which allows the player to achieve extra spin by being able to use his wrist in the forehand stroke.

FIG. 17 Demonstration of how the elbow must be contorted high in order to position the striking surface horizontally when generating much spin with the backhand using a conventional paddle.

FIG. 18 Demonstration of how the elbow is low in order to orient the striking surface horizontally when generating much spin with the backhand using the one-grip paddle.

Add the following paragraphs

FIG. 19 shows the embodiment in which the bisecting plane of the handle is 70° to striking surface.

FIG. 20 shows the embodiment in which the bisecting plane of the handle is 20° to striking surface.

FIG. 21 shows the embodiment in which the handle bisecting plane perpendicular to the aforementioned handle bisecting plane is 135° to the striking surface.

FIG. 22 shows the embodiment in which the handle bisecting plane perpendicular to the aforementioned handle bisecting plane is 45° to the striking surface.

FIG. 23 shows the embodiment in which the handle is offset minus 3 inches from the centerline of the paddle.

FIG. 24 shows the embodiment in which the handle is offset plus 3 inches from the centerline of the paddle.

FIG. 25 shows the embodiment in which the bisecting plane of the handle is plus 45° from the bisecting plane of the paddle striking surface.

FIG. 26 shows the embodiment in which the bisecting plane of the handle is minus 45° from the bisecting plane of the paddle striking surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The one-grip paddle is designed so the table tennis player can play the entire game with the serve grip of the expert shake hands player. The expert serve grip grasps the blade with the thumb on the striking surface and the index finger on the opposite striking surface. The three remaining fingers are curled behind the handle. This grip orients the blade so that the wrist can be used to impart much spin on the ball. The paddle of this invention directs the handle into the cavity formed by the three remaining fingers curled behind the handle of the conventional paddle.

The handle is fitted to the cavity of the three fingers by means of four ways:

-   1. The handle within its plane is rotated outward from the blade     surface at an angle of 20° to 70° and obtuse from the plane     perpendicular to the striking surface 45° to 135°. -   2. The handle is tapered. Tapering is accomplished by a narrowing of     the handle from the attachment point to the end of the handle. The     narrowing can be accomplished linearly or non-linearly as long as     the end of the handle is smaller than the handle at the attachment     point. -   4. The centerline of the handle is offset from the centerline of the     blade 0 to 3 inches.

The cavity formed by the three fingers is relatively small so additional support is needed to firmly secure the paddle to the hand. The additional support allows the player to mainly grip the paddle with the index finger and thumb which more simulates the expert serve grip. This additional support is provided in five ways.

-   1. A contoured index finger support which can be accomplished in     five ways.

a) Grooving the tapered handle to fit the index finger.

b) Using the bend of the blade to conform to the index finger

c) Gluing the paddle rubber to either the tapered handle to fit the index finger or the bend of the blade to conform to the index finger.

-   2. A contoured thumb support which can be accomplished in three     ways.

a) Grooving the tapered handle to fit the thumb contour

b) Adding a separate piece contoured to fit the thumb contour

c) Gluing the paddle rubber to either the tapered handle to fit the thumb contour or to the separate piece contoured to fit the thumb contour.

-   3. A contoured groove to fit the profile of the middle finger which     can be accomplished by 1) grooving the tapered handle to fit the     middle finger or 2) grooving the bent portion of the wood of the     striking surface. -   4. One, two, or three grooves in the handle which are contoured to     fit the profile of the middle, fourth, and little finger. -   5. A notch added to the striking surface allowing the last digit of     the index finger to grasp the paddle more securely.

Playing the entire point with the serve grip of the expert player has three main advantages. The wrist can be used in the backhand without contorting the elbow high. The forehand stroke can also use the wrist motion because the serve grip allows the paddle surface to be obtuse to the ball trajectory instead of acute as with the conventional paddle. The player is able to impart more spin to the ball with the additional wrist motion. The player need not switch grips after serving since he is using the serve grip for the entire game. Therefore, the player has more time to address the return of serve. 

1. Table tennis paddle in which the handle is tapered and 1) the bisecting plane of the handle is oblique to the striking plane of the striking surface in the range of 20° to 70°, 2) the bisecting plane perpendicular to the original bisecting plan of the handle is also oblique to the bisecting plane perpendicular to the striking surface in the range of 45° to 135°, and 3) the handle attachment is oblique to the bisecting plane perpendicular to the striking surface in the range of 0° to 45°. 2-7. (canceled)
 8. Table tennis paddle according to claims 1, wherein the tapered handle and/or the separate contoured thumb support are fixed to each other by screws or nails or bonded by adhesives or are integrally formed to either the flat striking surface or bent wood of the striking surface.
 9. Table tennis paddle according to claims 1, wherein the tapered handle and/or the separate contoured thumb support are made of structural foam, wood, or other non-metallic with hollow or solid handle.
 10. Table tennis paddle according to claims 1, wherein one, two, or three contoured grooves are added to the handle to fit to the one, two, or three fingers, or one groove to fit all three fingers.
 11. Table tennis paddle according to claims 1 wherein the striking surface is notched to provide for the index finger to more firmly grasp the paddle.
 12. Table tennis paddle according to claims 1 wherein the handle is offset from the center of the striking surface 0 to 3 inches in either direction.
 13. Table tennis paddle according to claim 1 wherein the handle is contoured to match the profile of the meat of the thumb and the meat of the lower hand.
 14. Table tennis paddle of claim 1 wherein a groove as part of the tapered handle or bent wood of the striking surface is contoured to fit the profile of the middle finger.
 15. Table tennis paddle of claim 1 wherein a contoured index finger support is made by grooving the tapered handle, bending the striking surface wood, or gluing the rubber to the grooved handle or bent striking surface wood.
 16. Table tennis paddle of claim 1 wherein a contoured thumb support made by contouring the handle to fit the thumb profile adding another piece grooved to fit the contour of the thumb, or gluing the rubber to the grooved handle or grooved extra piece. 